


A Silver Edge In A Red Castle

by GooeyHeat



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Gen, Pre-Canon, light Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:46:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21785425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GooeyHeat/pseuds/GooeyHeat
Summary: A demon hunter with a powerful ability makes an attempt on the life of a deadly vampire.
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This one ended up longer than I expected, so it's two chapters now. Not sure the second will be as long as the first, though.

A light breeze blew across the Romanian countryside. There, beyond a lake, stood a grandiose manor, its striking clock tower illuminated by the setting sun. This was the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and long ago it was home to a terrifying monster. Once, a powerful vampire resided here. His reign of terror was long and bloody, with those lucky enough to not be slaughtered like animals instead forced into servitude for the rest of their lives. His name, now forgotten, once struck fear into the hearts of man simply upon being spoken.

But somehow, years ago, he was defeated, and the mansion, once a fortress of death, was now simply a quiet, old building, slowly falling into disrepair. Though there were occasional stories of people who went near it seemingly vanishing, the Scarlet Devil Mansion would remain outside the minds of all but a select few. Those few were those who dealt with the supernatural, those who fought monsters with their lives on the line.

And those few were those who knew that the legacy of the Scarlet Devil had not ended with his defeat. They knew that the disappearances were not simply tall tales, but the work of the vampire's descendant. A descendant who had been much less proactive about spreading fear and carnage, but was powerful all the same, perhaps even more so. One who kept their company quite small, but no less dangerous than the armies of beasts that their father commanded.

On that fateful summer evening, one of those people approached the mansion's rusty gate. A silver-haired woman, no older than her mid-twenties at a glance, clad in a plain, dark blue dress, walked towards the entrance, preparing to end the Scarlet legacy once and for all.

"Hey, you!"

A green and red figure suddenly leaped over the gate in a single bound, landing in front with a powerful thud. As the dust from her impact cleared, the silver-haired woman saw that the figure was a tall, muscular woman with bright red hair and obviously foreign clothing.

The woman spoke. "I'd guess you're lost, huh? It happens; sometimes folks take a few wrong turns in the forest beyond the lake. If you're looking for shelter, though, this isn't a good place; the mistress absolutely HATES visitors. So you should probably turn around if you know what's good for you." She was surprisingly upbeat, punctuating her remarks with a wide smile.

The silver-haired girl casually pulled out a pocket watch, flipping it open and looking at it without changing her expression. She finally spoke. "Unfortunately for you, I forgot what's good for me a long time ago. You must be the dragon that guards this gate. I believe the name I came across was Hong Meiling?"

Meiling's smile went from a cheerful grin to a smirk. "Sounds like you've done your research, miss. Anyone who's come here with that kind of information is definitely someone with no intention of leaving. So before I crush you into dust, you mind giving me a name? It never feels right burying someone without having some way to refer to their bones."

The silver-haired woman closed her watch, and with a flourish, replaced it in her hand with a knife. "A name? You must be mistaken. I haven't had one of those in years."

"Ooh, a real mysterious type, huh? Alright, suit yourself!" With that, Meiling suddenly leaped forward with blinding speed, before unleashing a straight punch directly to the woman's chest.

At least, that was her plan, but her fist only met air, as the woman ducked the punch. Meiling followed up with a series of lightning-fast strikes, but none of them hit their mark, the silver-haired woman somehow surpassing her speed. Suddenly, Meiling felt a sharp pain in her chest, and she looked down to find the woman's knife buried in her chest. She staggered backwards, and the woman ripped the knife out, splashing blood on the both of them. Meiling looked up at the woman and smirked again. "Ooh, that stings. Not many folks have pulled something like that off. And is that knife silver? You're definitely an experienced monster hunter. Doesn't make much of a difference to me, but the mistress would not be happy to run into something like that."

The hunter gave a sarcastic curtsy. "Thank you for the compliments. I wish I could offer similar to you, but unfortunately your moves are sluggish and easily readable. Clearly you're lethargic and have never put in a proper day's work in your life. You'd be more suited to serving tea, which I believe is the more standard courtesy for guests like myself anyway?"

Meiling's smile faded, and she set her feet into a wide stance. "Alright, now you're pissing me off. Take this!" She began to glow with an otherworldly energy, a rainbow aura building up around her. The earth shook as the energy increased.

Then, in an instant, it all stopped. Meiling stood frozen, mouth agape, her eyes wide. Suddenly, she coughed, spitting out a small amount of blood. She then fell forward onto the ground. Her back was pierced with countless daggers, and the hunter stood behind her, posed casually as if she hadn't moved at all.

"H-How..." Meiling coughed as she dropped. As she lie, drifting out of consciousness, she managed to ask one more question. "You're... you're not human, are you...?"

The hunter smirked. "I get that a lot. But that's another mistake from you. I am quite human."

"But..." Meiling couldn't finish her sentence as she passed out.

The hunter turned around and walked to the mansion's large gate. She broke the rusted lock with a quick motion, then walked to the mansion's door and did the same. She walked inside, the large door slamming behind her as she stepped into the darkness.

The first thing the hunter noticed was the smell. An unpleasant mixture of mildew and blood assaulted her nose as she crossed a large, empty foyer. Dim light streamed in through the windows, giving her just enough vision to see the thin layer of dust that coated much of the room. The only thing that kept the mansion from being indistinguishable from any dingy shack was the size.

At the other end of the entrance hall were a large set of stairs with a handful of doors on either side. A more inquisitive person would likely have explored the doors first, but the hunter was on a mission, and she knew that her target would likely be waiting in a room near the top of the building.

As she crossed the hall and began the long ascent, the hunter mused. The head of the descendant of the Scarlet Devil would fetch a high price; she'd likely be set for many, many years if she was successful. She could find herself a house, in an isolated spot, and cut her contact with other people to a minimum, as she had desired for most of her adult life at this point.

Though she was most certainly human, it had been a long, long time since anyone had treated her like one for an extended period of time. Even before she developed her unique powers, she had been an outcast for plenty of reasons. Sometimes she talked too little. Sometimes she talked too much. She always seemed to say the wrong things. Certainly, a girl her age was not supposed to be so interested in knives, according to the adults around her. She got scolded for expressing her feelings, and she got scolded for not expressing her feelings. Even her parents, who she had given little thought to ever since she left home, always seemed to regard her with a strange, detached pity.

And then one day, as a young teenager, she found herself pushed too far. Words she couldn't even remember, admonishment for mistakes she didn't understand, they all led her to scream out the word "stop" in a fit of panic and rage... and stop it did. Everything stopped, except for her. All of those who refused to understand her, the world who shut her out, frozen in place like an uncanny diorama. And so, with a new world open to her, she did what she had wanted to do every time one of those situations found her.

She left.

In the frozen time, she simply walked to her home and entered her room, and sat alone in silence, as she had so desperately needed.

Eventually she was found, and she returned to that life, a life surrounded by those who refused to understand, those who saw her as a creature poorly attempting to live as a human being. And in response, she tested the limits of her new abilities, finding them to be far beyond her imagination. In the end, she used them to escape her old life, slowing her aging to avoid becoming too attached to any single group of people.

And as those with strange, inexplicable power often were, she was eventually drawn to dealing with the denizens of the dark, making a living through hunting deadly creatures. It wasn't something she enjoyed, but not something she disliked, either; it was simply a fact of life. Food cost money, after all, and no other job allowed her to work with her own methods with as little contact with those who would ruin her mood as possible. Still, it was enough of a struggle that she'd be relieved to finish off prey this notable and take a long break, by herself, without the voices of those who'd reject her constantly ringing in her ears.

The hunter paused a moment. Every now and then, something in her heart wondered if she had truly given up on being understood, if living out the rest of her life by herself was the only answer for someone like her.

She continued up the stairs. Now was not the time for doubts like those.

One by one, her steps echoed across the silent manor as she climbed her way to the top of the large staircase.

After what seemed like forever, she reached a landing which opened into a hallway. The hallway was lined with doors, all slightly open, providing views into long-abandoned rooms. At the end of the hall, a large, ornate set of double doors stood. This was clearly where she would find her target.

The hunter crossed the hall with a number of brisk steps, opened the doors, and stepped inside.

The hunter had never been in a vampire's bedroom before, but her expectations certainly weren't met with the sight she saw illuminated through the dim light from the hall, and a few streaks from the setting sun illuminating tiny patches of the floor through holes in the curtain.

For one, it was a lot pinker than she anticipated.

Rather than the dark, gothic decor that one would expect from a deadly master of the night, the frilly four-poster bed in the center of the room seemed much more fit for a little girl, as did the small clothes scattered all over the floor. Perhaps...

Ah.

Poking from under the covers was the head of a young girl, no older than ten years old at a glance, with blue hair and a pink nightcap, sleeping peacefully.

At this sight, some would have second thoughts. The hunter, however, did not. She simply produced three knives with a quick flourish, and threw them all straight at the girl, without changing her expression in the slightest.

The gruesome wounds that one would expect did not come to pass; instead, a cloud of bats suddenly appeared from the bed, dispersing across the room, leaving the bed empty save for the knives embedded in the mattress.

The bats swarmed upwards, eventually converging on top of the bed's canopy. They joined into a dark mass, which formed the shape of the girl, dressed in a full pink nightgown. Her piercing red eyes, sharp fangs, and the batlike wings protruding from her back betrayed her true nature.

This was the vampire.

A smirk formed on her face. "Oh me, oh my. It's been a long, long time since any inhabitant of this mansion has been targeted by a hunter, much less Remilia Scarlet, queen of the darkness. I suppose dear Meiling has been doing an excellent job. Congratulations to you for, I presume, defeating her, by the way. She's quite strong, you know."

The hunter looked up at Remilia. "If she's what passes for strong in this household, then the most difficult task I will face tonight is cleaning the blood from my knives."

"Ah ha ha ha ha! Your confidence is just so charming, human. It's been a very long time since a human overestimated themselves like that in my presence." Remilia rolled her neck a bit. "Still, it's been a while since I've seen this much energy in my breakfast. I'm sure your blood will be quite flavorful when filled with the panic of your final moments." Suddenly, with blinding speed, she rocketed from the bed's canopy, slamming into the ground with a force strong enough to shake the windows. Surprising her, though, was the fact that the hunter's neck was not in her grasp.

"A- _hem._ "

Remilia turned around towards the source of the sound, only to find the hunter sitting on top of the bed's canopy, in the exact same pose Remilia was only seconds earlier.

Remilia was shocked for barely a millisecond before her smile returned. "Well, well. It's been a while since I've met someone who could match my speed. Perhaps you're not human after all?" She rocketed up towards the hunter, swiping with her sharp nails, only to grasp nothing but air once again. Flying above the center of the room, she saw the hunter leaning against the room's door, arms crossed.

"If I had a coin for every time someone accused me of not being human, I'd be rich enough to not need to collect the bounty on your head, Scarlet."

Remilia dove towards the hunter again. This time, her attack was not only dodged, but countered, as a powerful kick from the hunter sent Remilia flying into the far wall. She reoriented herself and stood on the ground.

"A sellsword, hm? Pretty common motivation for what I'm now seeing to be a very uncommon human," Remilia chuckled.

The hunter shook her head. "The money is but a means to an end. All I desire is personal peace." In two quick motions, she threw ten knives directly at Remilia.

"Well, you won't find that peace with a slow attack like that!" Remilia moved quickly to the side, out of the flight path of the knives... only to grunt in pain as one of the knives pierced her wing.

Confused, Remilia looked around, only to find that the knives, rather than flying in a straight path, had somehow been redirected all over the room.

The hunter smiled. "You really are quick. I had to take some guesses there. If you were any other creature I've killed, you'd have been pierced by the other nine as well."

Remilia smiled back. "It seems speed isn't your only trick."

"It's bold of you to assume that speed was one of my tricks in the first place."

Remilia's smile dropped. "Cryptic, cryptic. Still, if we spend the rest of our time focusing on speed, this will take all night. My patience is thin as soon as I wake up, you see, so I hope you won't mind if I simply remove you from anything resembling existence with my lovely Gungnir so I can get on with my evening." After saying this, she raised her hand in the air, and a giant glowing red spear appeared in her grasp.

The hunter raised her eyebrows and smiled. "You're going to use a spear on an opponent you haven't even managed to scratch? It's an inspired approach, I'll say that much."

Remilia shook her head. "Oh, despite the shape, Gungnir is not particularly interested in precision. In fact, any human even remotely near its flight path or impact point would likely be reduced to dust. No matter how fast you are, it won't be enough if there's nowhere for you to escape to." She pulled her arm back. "Goodbye, human!" she yelled, hurling Gungnir with all her might.  
With a mighty crash, the spear, glowing with an otherworldly energy, blasted through the bedroom doors and screamed down the hall, leaving only scorch marks and a few chunks of wood.

Remilia walked to the now-empty doorway and surveyed the damage. "Oh dear, what a mess. Getting that fixed will take ages. Though it seems the spear dissipated before it reached an outside wall, so there's no immediate danger... Perhaps I can get away with leaving it as-is for now. It's not like I have many visitors, after all. The worst I'll get are some smart remarks from Patchy, and she doesn't need an excuse for those anyway HURK."

Remilia let out a grunt of pain and confusion before realizing she was pinned to the wall of her room, a knife piercing each of her wings. She made an effort to transform into her bats, but somehow it didn't work. She looked at one of the knives and realized. "Of course it's silver. I don't know why I even tried, really." She turned her head forward, to see the hunter standing in front of her. "Very good, human. How did you do that, anyway? I was sure you had no time to escape."

The hunter casually flipped open her pocket watch. "An error in judgment, really. I have all the time I could ever need, and more. In fact..." The hunter appeared to teleport to various spots in the room in a few seconds. "I have complete control over time itself. Surely you can understand how such a power would leave your defeat inevitable."

Remilia tried to smile, but it was more a grimace. The knives in her wings really hurt. "And you still claim to be a human. How curious." She dropped her head. "Now, finish me off, human. No need to drag this out any longer than you must."

"Hmm... I'd rather not, but thank you for the offer."

Remilia looked up. "Pardon?"

The hunter closed her watch, and put it in some unseen pocket with a single movement. "At some point during that fight, I decided not to kill you. So, I won't."

Remilia laughed. "Well, then, I suppose there's something you want from me. The legends are true, after all; I have the power to alter fate itself. I could grant you any wish a human could desire. Speak it, and it shall be yours."

The hunter shook her head. "No, I don't need anything. In fact, I'm more interested in what _you_ need from _me_."

Remilia let out another chuckle, which morphed into a cough halfway through. "What could I possibly need from a human?"

"Well, for starters..." The hunter trailed off.

Suddenly, Remilia found herself on the floor, no longer pinned to the wall. The knives were gone from her wings, and the spots where they had stabbed were covered with fresh bandages.

"...you probably needed some medical attention," the hunter finished.

Remilia simply gawked at that, so the hunter continued speaking.

"Furthermore... this house is a mess. Dust and dirt everywhere, your clothes are all over the floor of your room, and the smell is simply rancid. I would expect a high-class lady like yourself to have servants to attend to this sort of thing, no?"

After a few seconds, Remilia found her words. "My... my father had servants, but they died a long time ago, and I never hired any new ones. The servant quarters lining that hallway have been empty for years, and then excuse me what in the hell are you wearing."

In the middle of Remilia's sentence, the hunter had gone from a plain blue dress to a classic maid outfit, complete with apron and headpiece. She smiled and spoke. "How would you like to have a maid to help around your mansion?"

Remilia's jaw dropped. For a few seconds, she was silent.

Then, she laughed. She laughed hard, for a long time.

Catching her breath, she wiped a tear from her eye. "You are, perhaps, the most interesting human I have ever met. At this point, I think I'd be a fool not to take you up on that offer. Very well; I hereby appoint you as the head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, miss..." She trailed off. "Excuse me, just what _is_ your name?"

The hunter's smile faded. "I haven't had a name in a very long time."

"Tut, tut. Well, I can hardly just call you 'human', now, can I? Let's see... I believe bestowing you a proper name is within my powers. A name is a fate, after all, and fate is well within my purview."

The woman smiled again. "Do your worst," she said cheerfully.

Remilia closed her eyes. Though there was no physical change in the room, there was a shift in the mood that would undoubtedly be noticed by anyone there. "You shall be known as... Sakuya Izayoi."

The woman tilted her head to the side. "That's... Japanese, is it? What does it mean?"

Remilia shrugged. "Good question. I don't speak Japanese."

The woman sighed. "I suppose I'll have to research that, then. It is undoubtedly my name, though. I am Sakuya Izayoi."

Remilia clapped her hands together. "Excellent, excellent!" She walked over to the hole where the door to her room once stood. "Now, come with me. We have something very important to do before you get started."

"What's that?"

Remilia smiled. "Why, you have to meet the others, of course!"

The woman did a double take. "O-others?"

Remilia went on, ignoring her question. "Though I suppose you've met one of them already. We should still update her on the situation, I think. Now let's go, before we waste moonlight."

Remilia walked out of the room, and the hunter... no, Sakuya Izayoi followed behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakuya meets the rest of the family.

Night had fully fallen on the Scarlet Devil Mansion. The moon continued to rise in the sky as Remilia and Sakuya stepped out the front door and walked to the large gate. At the sound of their footsteps, Meiling turned around, immediately dropping to one knee.

"Ah, Lady Remilia! I... apologize for allowing an intruder past the gate. I-"

"Stand up, Meiling," Remilia interrupted. "I'm not here to scold you. I simply would like to introduce you to the newest inhabitant of our humble manor."

Meiling stood up quickly, then looked at Sakuya, who had been standing silently next to Remilia the entire time. "Oh, it's you from earlier!" She looked her up and down, noticing the change in outfit. "Considering how you're dressed, it's not hard to guess what you're going to be doing here. You do look pretty cute in it, though, I gotta say."

Sakuya gave a smile and a wink. "Thank you, though I'm sure you'd find I look cute in just about anything."

Meiling laughed. "I like your confidence!" Her expression turned thoughtful. "I'm surprised, though; I've never seen Lady Remilia spare a human after beating her. Lady Remilia, may I ask why you showed her mercy?"

Remilia started. "I- um, well, actually-"

"Your master has generously allowed me to live in exchange for using my talents in eternal servitude to her," Sakuya interrupted. "I suppose that, though they couldn't defeat her, my powers were enough to save me after all."

"Huh, okay." Meiling put her hands behind her head. "On that note, what are your powers, anyway? It seemed like you were more than just fast when we fought."

Sakuya smiled. "Well, you see..." she began. "...I have control over the flow of time itself," she finished, suddenly standing behind Meiling.

"Waah!" Meiling jumped. "That's pretty impressive. No wonder I couldn't keep up."

"I aim to impress," Sakuya said, appearing by Remilia's side once again. "Oh, how rude of me," she went on, feigning shock. "I forgot to offer my own name."

"Oh, so that stuff about having no name was a lie after all."

Sakuya shook her head. "No, it was the truth. I didn't have a name then. I have one now. You may call me Sakuya Izayoi."

Meiling scratched her head. "Shoot, I haven't brushed up on my Japanese in a bit... something about night, I think?"

"Your guess is as good as ours. Fate bestowed this name, and its meaning eludes me at present," Remilia butted in.

"Maybe you should ask Patch. She knows a ton of languages to dig through all those dusty old books she has," Meiling offered.

"We were going to meet her next. Perhaps we'll bring it up," Remilia said. "See you later, Meiling."

"It was a pleasure meeting you on more friendly terms," Sakuya added.

"Of course. Have a good evening, Lady Remilia."

As soon as the heavy mansion doors slammed shut behind the two, Remilia spoke. "Why did you lie to Meiling?"

Sakuya offered an innocent smile. "There's simply no way the legendary Scarlet Devil could be defeated by a mere human, is there? And even if she were, it would be even more impossible for said human to suddenly decide to become her servant. It's all for your sake, my lady."

Remilia smiled. "Yes, of course. I'm glad you understand the reputation that my position requires. I look forward to your continued service."

The two returned to silence, the only sound their footsteps echoing across the mansion as Remilia led Sakuya to one of the doors flanking the large staircase. Eventually, Sakuya spoke up.

"May I ask you something, my lady?"

"Go ahead."

"Who is this 'Patch'?"

Remilia chuckled. "She's an old friend of mine, who has lived here for many years. She rarely leaves her library these days, though. I don't blame her; there's not much interesting going on out here these days." She pushed open a door and walked in, and Sakuya followed closely behind.

The room inside was a candlelit room lined with bookshelves. Clearly the shelves weren't enough, however, as piles of books sat on top of the shelves, on the floor next to them, and basically on about three-quarters of what would otherwise be room for someone to walk.

"Huh? Who's there?"  
A light, cheery voice echoed from the library. Shortly after, a red-haired girl dressed in a vest and tie, with bat wings on her back and smaller ones on top of her head, popped out from behind a shelf. "Hello?" she added, looking quizzical.

"Is this who you wanted me to meet?" Sakuya asked, but as she turned to Remilia she saw a confused scowl on her face.

"No," Remilia said. "I don't know who the hell this is."

A sharper, decidedly more grumpy voice came from the darkness on the far side of the room. "Familiar! If Remilia is in, lead her here."

"O-oh! Okay!" The girl looked up at Sakuya. "Um... are you Remilia?"

Remilia spoke up. "I am Remilia, and I am currently very curious as to why _another_ person I do not recognize is in my mansion."

The strange girl looked down at Remilia. "Y-your mansion? Oh! Of course! R-right this way, miss!"

The girl led Remilia and Sakuya down a winding path between the bookshelves, walking around stacks of loose books. Eventually they reached a large desk in the center of the library. The desks had open books and notepads strewn all over, and in the chair at the other side sat a tired-looking girl in with purple hair, dressed in an indigo gown. She was holding yet another book in her hands, reading diligently.

Remilia walked up and drummed her fingers on the desk. "Hello, Patchouli."

"Hello, Remilia," she replied, not looking up from her book.

"Patchouli, I had something to tell you, but before that I must ask: who exactly is the girl that greeted us as we entered this library."

Patchouli shifted her eyes upwards very slightly for a split second, then looked back down at her book. "She's my familiar."

Remilia pinched the bridge of her nose. "And just when did you get a familiar?"

"A month or so ago, I fell terribly sick, more so than usual. I could barely turn the pages of my books. So I did the logical thing."

Sakuya spoke up. "Drink lots of water and get extra rest so you can return to your reading sooner?"

Patchouli glanced upwards again at the voice she didn't recognize. Then, without her expression changing, she pulled a notepad to her and started scrawling down some notes. "That's a good idea. I'll have to try that next time. Anyway, I summoned a devil familiar to turn pages for me. She's proven to be helpful beyond that, so I kept her around. Who is this, by the way?" Her words asked a question, but the monotone of her voice meant that it took a few seconds for Remilia or Sakuya to register it.

Remilia gestured to Sakuya with a flourish. "This is Sakuya Izayoi, the new head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. She will be working here from now on."

Sakuya bowed her head slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Remilia continued. "We were actually meaning to ask you, Patchy: what does the name 'Sakuya Izayoi' mean?"

Patchouli's raised an eyebrow and looked at Sakuya. "You don't know what your own name means?"

"Your master's power bestowed this name on me, and I'm afraid neither of us speak Japanese," Sakuya said.

Patchouli's brow furrowed. She pointed a thin finger at Remilia. "Didn't I teach you Japanese one hundred and seventy-eight years ago?"

Remilia looked away. "Well, you gave me a few lessons, but then I started skipping them to go hunting, and we just... never got back to them, I suppose."

"Good heavens." Patchouli sighed. "Well, assuming it's written like this..." She quickly scrawled out some kanji on a notepad, ripped off a piece of paper, and shoved it at Remilia and Sakuya. "'Izayoi' means 'sixteenth night', referring to the night after the full moon, and 'Sakuya' means 'flowering night'. There are other meanings and allusions in them, but they mostly all point to other things relating to the night. Fitting, considering who you're working for." Her mouth turned upwards, into the slightest possible approximation of a smile. "I am Patchouli Knowledge, by the way. Magician. Just wondering, what kind of creature are you?"

Sakuya smiled. "Oh, I'm a human."

Patchouli raised an eyebrow again. "You hired a human? Interesting choice. Can she do... anything?"

Remilia smiled. "Oh, can she ever. Sakuya, show her something."

Sakuya looked around the room. "You know, there really isn't enough room in this library for all these books. How would you like a larger one?"

"...go on," Patchouli mumbled.

Sakuya snapped her fingers. Immediately, the library began to stretch, the far wall behind Patchouli moving into the distance. With another snap, the room stopped growing. "In the morning I can gather some materials and put together some more bookshelves. Should make it easier to navigate this place."

Patchouli gave a slight smile again. "Impressive."

Remilia, though, looked confused. "I thought your powers were control of time?"

Sakuya smiled. "Time and space are inextricably linked. Control of one is control of the other. By the way, the mansion doesn't look any bigger from the outside. I simply distorted the space in this library."

Remilia grinned. "I knew I made a good choice." She turned to Patchouli, and her smile faded. "I believe Sakuya and I should take our leave for now. There's one more person we have yet to meet, and this is probably the most... worrisome meeting we have planned."

Patchouli chuckled darkly. "You sure you want to bother? You just got this new human. I'd hate to see you have to find another so soon."

"I trust her to handle this, I think. Besides, if she can't survive this meeting, then she wasn't fit to be my head maid in the first place.

"Suit yourself," Patchouli said, returning her eyes to her book. The vampire and her maid made their way around the loose books to the library's exit.

Remilia led Sakuya around a few corners, through a hallway behind the main stairs, and to a wooden door at the end, where she paused and took a breath. "At the bottom of this stairway, there is a metal door. Behind that door resides someone very dangerous... and someone very important to me." She looked up at Sakuya, and in Remilia's eyes Sakuya saw an expression that she hadn't yet seen from Remilia.

She saw fear.

"Please... be ready to use your powers however you must in order to keep yourself alive. And yet, selfish as it may sound, I also must ask..." Remilia gulped. "Try not to hurt her."

The two stepped slowly down the stairs, but unlike before, Sakuya was in front. She reached for the handle and turned, pulling the heavy door open.

Light from the hallway streamed in, illuminating the room beyond the single wall-mounted candle that was fully intact. Black marks lined every surface of the room. A four-poster bed similar to Remilia's sat in the far corner, but with only a vague approximation of the canopy remaining, as three of the columns reduced to splinters part of the way up.

On the bed's surface, facing the wall, sat a small girl, about the same height as Remilia. Her hair was blonde, and her outfit was similar to Remilia's, but red and white. Most strikingly, protruding from her back was what looked like two strange sticks, with multicolored crystals dangling from them.

At the sound of her room's door opening, the girl suddenly whipped her head around, revealing wide, blood-red eyes. As Sakuya and Remilia entered, the girl's face twisted into a crooked smile, and she spoke.

"Oh, big sis! After all this time you brought me another human to destroy! Thank you, thank you!" The girl spun her body around at lightning speed and raised her arm straight in front of her. A crimson flame began to glow on her hand.

Sakuya began to feel an unnatural heat in her body. Instinctively, she froze the flow of time; all she heard before entering her silent realm was Remilia's voice shouting "Flan, wait!"

In the frozen time, the feeling of heat subsided. Sakuya took a few steps to the left and then looked at the spot where she had been standing previously. She noted a few wisps of the same flame that surrounded the girl's hand remained frozen in the air where Sakuya had stood. She walked to the girl's bed, leaned against the tallest pillar, crossed her arms, and let time resume.

The flames around the girl's hand dissipated. She dropped her arm and looked around the room, confused, until she turned towards Sakuya, who was standing coolly and silently.

The girl's eyes lit up. "WHOA! How did you do that? You might even be faster than me or my sister!"

Remilia cleared her throat, and both Sakuya and the girl looked towards her. "Flandre, this is our new head maid, Sakuya Izayoi. Sakuya, this is my dear younger sister, Flandre."

Flandre cocked her head to the side. "Head maid? What does that mean?"

"It means I work in this mansion now," Sakuya answered with a smile.

"You work here? What do you do?"

"Cooking, cleaning, and help with just about anything else you need. Hopefully I will be here for quite a long time."

"Wow! That sounds amazing! Oh, but..." Flandre turned towards Remilia. "Does this mean she's not here for me to destroy?"

"Well, um..." Remilia started.

Sakuya held up a hand. "If I may, my lady." She turned towards Flandre. "Do you like destroying things, Flandre?"

Flandre's eyes lit up. "Yes! It's my favorite! Every time I use my powers to destroy something, it happens a little bit differently depending on what I destroy! It's so wonderful..." Flandre trailed off and looked expectantly at Sakuya, who was giving her a sweet smile.

Sakuya flicked her fingers, and a dagger with an ornate design on its handle appeared between them. "Have you ever seen a knife like this?"

Flandre looked quizzical. "No...?"

"I thought not. Silver is pretty dangerous for vampires to touch, so I doubt you'd have anything like this around the mansion." With another flick, she let go of the knife, and it spun slowly, suspended in the air thanks to Sakuya's power. She smiled at Flandre again. "Would you like to destroy it?"

Flandre's jaw dropped. "Nobody's ever asked me that before... Can I really, Miss Sakuya?"

"Go right ahead."

Flandre raised her hand and aimed it towards the knife. Both her hand and the knife began to glow with the same red flames from earlier. The knife's blade changed to a bright orange, before it began to melt entirely, the molten metal falling slightly before dissolving into thin air. The handle, meanwhile, remained intact until it suddenly shattered with a loud noise, the pieces managing to fly barely centimeters apart before they, too, completely vanished.

"Whoa..." said Flandre. She turned to Sakuya. "Do you have any more?"

Sakuya produced another knife. "I can spare one more, but many of my knives are very important to me. I can show you one that I particularly like after you destroy this one, but you have to promise not to destroy that one, okay?"

Flandre looked into Sakuya's eyes for a moment. A few emotions faintly flitted across her face before she spoke again. "Okay!" she said cheerfully.

Flandre repeated the process on this second knife, it too melting and shattering in midair. She turned back to Sakuya.

Sakuya smiled, sat down on the bed next to Flandre, and pulled out a larger knife, holding it delicately closer to her and Flandre so they could both see. "This is one I've had for... oh, about thirty years. I got it from a blacksmith who lived in a mountainside. If you look at the blade itself, his name is engraved here. And then if you look here..." Sakuya turned the knife around. "There is a dragon engraved on the handle. I think it's quite a lovely design, myself."

Flandre nodded. "It's pretty..."

"I'm glad you think so, Flandre. Your powers are very interesting to me as well. If you want to use them more, then in addition to bringing you food, I can also bring you new things to destroy; things that you've never seen before. Would you like that?"  
Flandre was practically jumping out of her seat at this point. "Yes! Yes I would! Um, I mean..." She glanced at Remilia. "Yes, please, Miss Sakuya."

"Excellent!" Sakuya stood up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, your sister and I must be taking our leave for now. See you later, Lady Flandre."

"Bye, Miss Sakuya!" Flandre said cheerfully, as Sakuya walked to the metal door. She walked through, with Remilia closely behind, and they gently closed it behind them and climbed the stairs.

Remilia was silent as the two returned to the main foyer of the mansion. Eventually, Sakuya looked down at Remilia, and noticed she was looking down at the floor. Sakuya ventured to speak. "Lady Remilia?" Remilia's only response was to turn her head away from Sakuya even further. Sakuya said nothing more, but she put a hand on Remilia's shoulder.

After they stood in silence for a few seconds, Remilia finally spoke. "It's... it's been so long since I've seen my sister that happy..." She reached up and wiped her eyes. "I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone connect with her like you did. I..."

"Think nothing of it, my lady. It was no great effort." Sakuya looked off into the distance, and began to remember the looks she got when she was young, the scolding and the rejection, before she left her associations with the rest of humanity behind. "I simply... decided to be the person I would've liked to know..." She trailed off.

The two stood in silence for a time. Eventually, though, Sakuya let out a slight yawn. "Lady Remilia, I believe I need to get some sleep."

"At this hour?" Remilia started. "Ah... yes, humans generally sleep at night, don't they. At least for tonight, anyway, you may rest. We'll figure out how you can serve me during my waking hours later. You are welcome to take any of the rooms you passed on the way to my room."

"Thank you. Good night, Lady Remilia."

"Good night, Sakuya." Sakuya walked up the stairs, leaving Remilia alone in the foyer.

Suddenly, after a few seconds, Remilia nearly jumped when she heard Sakuya's voice. "Hello, Lady Remilia."

"Ah! Er... Weren't you going to sleep?"

"Yes, and I believe I overslept. My watch says that I slept for a whole ten hours. I suppose I must have needed it, though; I did have a long day yesterday after all. Now, is there anything you may need?"

Remilia looked at Sakuya, who smiled a mischievous smile. Remilia gave a smirk. "Sakuya Izayoi, I think you will make quite the wonderful addition to this family."

Sakuya's expression suddenly became shocked. "F-family?"

"Yes, I like to think of all of us here as a sort of family. Does that bother you?"

"N-no! Quite the opposite, in fact! I-I just, well... I was... surprised..." Sakuya trailed off, stuttering.

Suddenly, Remilia laughed loudly and long. Eventually, after several seconds, she wiped a tear from her eye. "Of all the things you've seen here tonight, all the creatures and powers beyond any average human's imagination, the one thing that truly surprises you is being referred to as family!" She took a breath. "Truly, you are the most interesting human I have ever met. If I were in the business of changing fate – and I most certainly am, mind you – I would say that your arrival here marks the start of a new era of the Scarlet Devil."

Sakuya gave a sheepish grin. "Oh, I wouldn't say all that, my lady. I am simply here to help you in whatever way you see fit."

"Of course, of course. In that case, how about I show you the kitchen? We should still have some leftover corpses, and-" Remilia stopped. "Er... you know that we vampires eat humans and drink their blood, right? Is that..."

"Yes, and considering the state of this mansion before you arrived, I'm sure you haven't had one prepared with any sort of care in a long time. Hopefully you have some spices stored; not many shops are open at this hour and I'd rather not make a bland dish for my first job."

Remilia looked at Sakuya, slight confusion in her eyes. Sakuya returned an unreadable smile. Then, Remilia let out a hearty chuckle. "Of course, of course. I trust you will do a fine job. Thank you, Sakuya."  
"Anything you wish, my lady. Perhaps we could even invite the others for a meal."

"Excellent idea!" Remilia clenched a fist and smiled. "We shall have a toast to the new age of the Scarlet Devil Mansion!"

With that, the two made their way to another end of the mansion, beginning their new story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there's one thing that always bugged me about the in-universe theory of Sakuya's origins, it's this: I simply don't believe that Sakuya would be at the mansion if she didn't truly want to.  
> Anyway, this story is a bit heavy on the headcanons, especially those on the characters that I read as having autistic traits that I've related to, but I hope you've enjoyed it all the same.


End file.
